Virat Kohli tries to pacify raucous fans after landing in Auckland ahead of NZ vs IND 2026 ODIs [Watch]

Team India star batter Virat Kohli landed in Auckland on Friday, October 30, ahead of the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, which begins at Eden Park. His arrival, unsurprisingly, turned into massive chaos at the airport as fans swarmed him from all sides, despite tight security.

Social media clips that have gone viral, show supporters packed in behind barriers, phones up, chanting his name as he made his way through the terminal.

Virat Kohli was mobbed for selfies and autographs, and he tried to calm things down by raising his hands and gesturing to the crowd to settle as he moved toward the exit. One persistent fan screamed his name non-stop for him to sign a poster, and the legend himself had to urge her to calm down while signing.

The security had to practically rush Virat Kohli out of the huddle as fans kept piling on. Have a look at the haywire scenes at the airport upon his arrival right here:

Virat Kohli was spotted at Mumbai airport yesterday, and as a result, it was widely reported that he would arrive in Auckland on Friday morning to link up with the ODI squad members ahead of the crucial five-match series.

His teammate Rohit Sharma landed in Auckland yesterday, with the two veterans named in both ODI squads. Shubman Gill captains India for the first three matches and Shreyas Iyer for the last two, as India named a split squad, keeping the subsequent two-match Test series in mind.

Virat Kohli has an average of 49.66 after 13 ODI appearances in New Zealand

Virat Kohli comes into the series on the back of some runs and also as the No.3 ranked ODI batter in the world. His 139 not out off 88 balls recently in the opening ODI against West Indies carried him past 15,000 runs in the format, making him the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to get there. He made 29 off 19 in the chase of 406 that followed, then fell for a golden duck in the series finale in Mullanpur as India took the series 2-1.

Virat Kohli has a solid record in New Zealand as well, scoring 596 runs in 13 innings in New Zealand at 49.66, a strike rate of 91.41, with four fifties and one century. The hundred was a 111-ball 123 in Napier in 2014, in a series India lost 4-0 but in which he still passed 75 three times.

Eleven of those innings came against New Zealand. The other two were neutral World Cup games in 2015: an unbeaten 44 against Ireland in Hamilton and 38 against Zimbabwe at Eden Park.

The series opens at Eden Park on November 4, moves to Wellington and Hamilton, and finishes with two matches at Mount Maunganui.

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